Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region: May 22, 2015
Featured
- Threats to prairie show tension between growth, flood protection (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle, 5/16/2016)
“Imagine a sponge. Now imagine that you had access to something that would make this sponge – an inherently absorbent object – many times more absorbent. Something that supercharged its capacity to soak up and hold liquid. That’s a fair description of the grass that grows on the Katy Prairie, which straddles the border of Harris and Waller counties. A 2015 study for the Harris County Flood Control District found evidence that the prairie’s native vegetation increased the ‘infiltrative capacity of soil.’ In other words, the grass makes the prairie a better sponge.”
www.houstonchronicle.com - Houston’s Energy Corridor Works To Promote Bike Commuting (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media, 5/16/2016)
“With all the cars and congestion along the roads that cross I-10, the Energy Corridor may not seem like a friendly place to ride a bike. But a lot of people do it. About 100,000 people work in the area. Energy Corridor Transportation Coordinator Kelly Rector estimates about 2 percent cycle to work. ‘We have all the trails along Bush Park, as well as Terry Hershey Park, so that you can come from the other side of the reservoir all the way to the BP campus at Westlake and never have to share the road with a car,’ explains Rector. ‘You’re on a trail the entire way.’ But what if you have to ride a bike on one of the busy arteries like Highway 6 or Eldridge Parkway?”
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Bacteria levels too high in San Jacinto River (Natasha Rodrigues – The Tribune, 5/16/2016)
“The West Fork San Jacinto River and its tributary, Lake Creek, in Montgomery and Grimes counties, has been identified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as failing to meet state water quality standards due to elevated levels of bacteria. West Fork Watersheds Partnership held its first public meeting May 5 at the San Jacinto River Authority in Conroe, in an effort to improve West Fork San Jacinto River and Lake Creek’s water quality. A Watershed Protection Plan was introduced by the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC) Justin Bower, senior environmental planner and project manager. ”
www.ourtribune.com
EcoNotes
- 21 May
- At the Top of Texas, Perryton Offers Lessons In Oil Bust Survival (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org
- At the Top of Texas, Perryton Offers Lessons In Oil Bust Survival (Jim Malewitz – The Texas Tribune)
- 20 May
- With April temps, 2016 stays on track to be Earth’s hottest year on record (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - The paradox of peak-based ozone air pollution standards (EconoTimes)
www.econotimes.com - Former top eco-regulator: EPA ozone rules are ‘choking our economy’ (Andrew Follett – 4-Traders)
www.4-traders.com - EPA Proposes Modest Renewable Fuel Increase for 2017 (Bilbaoya)
http://bilbaoya.com
- With April temps, 2016 stays on track to be Earth’s hottest year on record (Bill Dawson – Texas Climate News)
- 19 May
- Texas State Parks Reservation System Makes Changes Regarding Transfer Policy (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov - Night Skies Photography Workshops Slated for Enchanted Rock SNA (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
http://tpwd.texas.gov - U.S. EPA biofuels plan disappoints refiners, farmers alike (David Shepardson and Chris Prentice – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org - Toxic lead water found at 3 state-run centers for disabled in Texas (RT)
www.rt.com - NOAA Fisheries Reminds Recreational Fisherman that the Gulf of Mexico Greater Amberjack and Gray Triggerfish Recreational Fishing Seasons will close on June 1, 2016 (NOAA Fisheries)
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov - NOAA Fisheries Announces Red Snapper Will Remain Closed in South Atlantic Federal Waters in 2016 (NOAA Fisheries)
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov
- Texas State Parks Reservation System Makes Changes Regarding Transfer Policy (Texas Parks & Wildlife)
- 18 May
- Report: Texas Must Increase Water Conservation Efforts (Madlin Mekelburg – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - San Antonio Utility Approves Vista Ridge Takeover (Kiah Collier – The Texas Tribune)
www.texastribune.org - Lindale Farms community protests Integrity Ready Mix concrete batch plant (Adrian Shelley – airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - Air Alliance Houston joins Furr High School for Civility in the Park (Leticia Ablaza – airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - Air Alliance Houston gives Clean Air Scientist Awards (airCurrent News)
http://airalliancehouston.org - Fort Worth, other Tarrant County cities are no longer water hogs (Star-Telegram)
www.star-telegram.com - Most Texas quakes likely caused by oil, gas activities: study (Luc Cohen – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org - Clear the Air: The Best Air Purifiers for Your Home (Gismodo)
http://gizmodo.com - Report: Cleaner ERCOT grid will make federal regs irrelevant (Smart Grid News)
www.smartgridnews.com - The Limits of a New ‘Five Question Test’ for Analyzing Texas Earthquakes (Steve Everley – The Energy Collective)
www.theenergycollective.com - Corpus Christi boil water order remains, disinfectant change (KSL)
www.ksl.com - GOP seeks to delay ozone standards that could slow energy development (James Osborne – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com - EPA raises ethanol, biofuels mandates again (James Osborne – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com
- Report: Texas Must Increase Water Conservation Efforts (Madlin Mekelburg – The Texas Tribune)
- 17 May
- Texas forests face major changes, “cyberforests†climate model indicates (Tim Radford – Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - Prairie backers fend off some threats, struggle with others (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - EPA, following Obama’s lead, releases methane rules for oil and gas industry (Legal News Line)
http://legalnewsline.com - Toxic Lead Levels Discovered At State-Funded Disability Homes In Texas (Sara Jerome – Water Online)
www.wateronline.com - Making the Case for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, CH2M Asks: How Well is Your Infrastructure Working for You? (Yahoo! Finance)
http://finance.yahoo.com - Texas attorney general backs Exxon in climate change fight (Ernest Scheyder – Planet Ark News)
http://planetark.org - GOP seeks to delay ozone standards that could slow energy development (James Osborne – Fuel Fix)
http://fuelfix.com
- Texas forests face major changes, “cyberforests†climate model indicates (Tim Radford – Texas Climate News)
- 16 May
- Threats to prairie show tension between growth, flood protection (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Houston’s Energy Corridor Works To Promote Bike Commuting (Gail Delaughter – Houston Public Media)
www.houstonpublicmedia.org - Bacteria levels too high in San Jacinto River (Natasha Rodrigues – The Tribune)
www.ourtribune.com - At This Week’s Ride of Silence, Raising Awareness of Cyclist Fatalities (Katharine Shilcutt – Houstonia)
www.houstoniamag.com - We’re going to get more big rain storms (Charles Kuffner – Off the Kuff)
http://offthekuff.com - Geologists identify sources of methane, greenhouse gas, in Ohio, Colorado and Texas (Science Daily)
www.sciencedaily.com - America’s Water Infrastructure Requires New Mindset (Codi Kozacek – Circle of Blue)
www.circleofblue.org
- Threats to prairie show tension between growth, flood protection (Mike Snyder – Houston Chronicle)
- 15 May
- Tour of cistern becomes ultimate underground movement (St. John Barned-Smith – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com
- Tour of cistern becomes ultimate underground movement (St. John Barned-Smith – Houston Chronicle)
- 13 May
- Killing mosquitoes is a lifelong mission for dragonflies (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle)
www.houstonchronicle.com - Ironman alters Woodlands swim course to avoid foul water (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
www.chron.com - U.S. Energy Chief: Texas Should Develop Clean Power Plan (Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
www.texastribune.org
- Killing mosquitoes is a lifelong mission for dragonflies (Gary Clark – Houston Chronicle)
- 12 May
- To Make Fresh Water without Warming the Planet, Countries Eye Solar Power (Richard Martin – MIT Technology Review)
www.technologyreview.com
- To Make Fresh Water without Warming the Planet, Countries Eye Solar Power (Richard Martin – MIT Technology Review)
- 11 May
- Don’t Be Afraid to Bike to Work—BikeHouston Will Show You How (Katharine Shilcutt – Houstonia)
www.houstoniamag.com - Buffalo Bayou’s Cistern Opens Friday But You Can Peek In Right Now via Reverse Periscope (Swamplot)
http://swamplot.com - This mystery was solved: Scientists say chemicals from fracking wastewater can taint fresh water nearby (Darryl Fears – The Washington Post)
www.washingtonpost.com - Climate change and globalization driving tropical diseases toward Texas (Texas Climate News)
http://texasclimatenews.org - Environmentalists Hate Fracking. Are They Right? (Tim McDonnell – Climate Desk)
http://climatedesk.org
- Don’t Be Afraid to Bike to Work—BikeHouston Will Show You How (Katharine Shilcutt – Houstonia)
- 10 May
- Radioactive isotopes reveal age of oil, gas wastewater spills (Science Daily)
www.sciencedaily.com
- Radioactive isotopes reveal age of oil, gas wastewater spills (Science Daily)
- 9 May
- High School Students Pledge to Save Wildlife (Lauren St. Pierre – Houston Zoo)
www.houstonzoo.org
- High School Students Pledge to Save Wildlife (Lauren St. Pierre – Houston Zoo)
- 6 May
- In Big Bend, Trans-Pecos Pipeline Clears Last Hurdle (Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
www.texastribune.org
- In Big Bend, Trans-Pecos Pipeline Clears Last Hurdle (Jim Malewitz – Trib+Water)
- 5 May
- Birds Adapting to Global Warming (Diana Madson – Climate Connections)
www.yaleclimateconnections.org
- Birds Adapting to Global Warming (Diana Madson – Climate Connections)
- 23 April
- Revised Solid Waste Management Rules Mandate Inclusion of Wastepickers! (Waste Narratives)
https://wastenarratives.com
- Revised Solid Waste Management Rules Mandate Inclusion of Wastepickers! (Waste Narratives)